Grüß Gott
Encyclopedia
Grüß Gott is a greeting
, less often a farewell, in the Upper German
Sprachraum
especially in Switzerland
, Bavaria
, Franconia
, Swabia
and Austria
. The greeting was publicized in the 19th century by the Catholic clergy and along with its variants has long been the most common greeting form in Southern Germany
and Austria
. The salutation often receives a good-natured sarcastic response from Northern (and thus mainly Protestant) Germans such as "When I see him" ("Wenn ich ihn sehe") or "Hopefully not too soon" ("Hoffentlich nicht so bald").
Grüß Gott is the shortened form of both (Es) Grüße dich Gott and its plural (Es) Grüße euch Gott ('may God greet you'). The verb grüßen originally had a meaning similar to segnen ('to bless'), although it now means 'to greet'. The essential meaning of grüß (dich) Gott is therefore 'God bless you'. Such a religious expression in a greeting only exists in a few countries. For example, people wish one another a simple 'good day' in Poland (dzień dobry), Spain (buenos días), and Portugal (bom dia), while in Gaelic
-speaking Ireland the popular greeting is Dia dhuit ('God with you'), similar to the English goodbye, a contraction of God be with ye; today, of course, goodbye has a less obviously religious meaning. A religious origin is still obvious in French adieu, Spanish adiós, Italian addio and Portuguese adeus ("To God").
Like many other greetings, Grüß Gott can range in meaning from deeply emotional to hasty and thoughtless. Popular variations are Grüß dich (Gott) and its plural form Grüß euch (Gott), literally meaning 'Greet you (God)'. The greeting's pronunciation varies with the region, with, for example, Grüß dich sometimes shortened to Grüß di (the variation Grüß di Gott may be heard in some places). In Bavaria and Austria griaß di and griaß eich are commonly heard, although their Standard German
equivalents are not uncommon either. A common farewell analogous to grüß Gott is pfiat' di Gott, a contraction of "Behüte dich Gott" ('God protect you'), which itself is not common at all. This is likewise shortened this to pfiat' di/eich or, if the person is addressed formally pfia Gott in Altbayern
, Austria, and South Tyrol
(Italy
).
In its Standard German form, grüß Gott is mostly stressed on the second word and in many places is used not only in everyday life, but is also common in the official communications of the aforementioned states. Use of the greeting guten Tag ('good day') is less prevalent, but there are those who dislike grüß Gott on account of its religious nature. In Bavaria, guten Tag is considered prim and distant and sometimes leads to misunderstandings; however, if the person addressed is from Northern Germany, it can be seen as a friendly gesture.
Greeting
Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship or social status between individuals or groups of people coming in contact with each other...
, less often a farewell, in the Upper German
Upper German
Upper German is a family of High German dialects spoken primarily in southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Northern Italy.-Family tree:Upper German can be generally classified as Alemannic or Austro-Bavarian...
Sprachraum
Sprachraum
Sprachraum is a linguistic term used to designate a geographical region/district where a language, dialect, group or family of languages is spoken. The German word Sprachraum literally means "language area"....
especially in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
, Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. The greeting was publicized in the 19th century by the Catholic clergy and along with its variants has long been the most common greeting form in Southern Germany
Southern Germany
The term Southern Germany is used to describe a region in the south of Germany. There is no specific boundary to the region, but it usually includes all of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, and the southern part of Hesse...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. The salutation often receives a good-natured sarcastic response from Northern (and thus mainly Protestant) Germans such as "When I see him" ("Wenn ich ihn sehe") or "Hopefully not too soon" ("Hoffentlich nicht so bald").
Grüß Gott is the shortened form of both (Es) Grüße dich Gott and its plural (Es) Grüße euch Gott ('may God greet you'). The verb grüßen originally had a meaning similar to segnen ('to bless'), although it now means 'to greet'. The essential meaning of grüß (dich) Gott is therefore 'God bless you'. Such a religious expression in a greeting only exists in a few countries. For example, people wish one another a simple 'good day' in Poland (dzień dobry), Spain (buenos días), and Portugal (bom dia), while in Gaelic
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
-speaking Ireland the popular greeting is Dia dhuit ('God with you'), similar to the English goodbye, a contraction of God be with ye; today, of course, goodbye has a less obviously religious meaning. A religious origin is still obvious in French adieu, Spanish adiós, Italian addio and Portuguese adeus ("To God").
Like many other greetings, Grüß Gott can range in meaning from deeply emotional to hasty and thoughtless. Popular variations are Grüß dich (Gott) and its plural form Grüß euch (Gott), literally meaning 'Greet you (God)'. The greeting's pronunciation varies with the region, with, for example, Grüß dich sometimes shortened to Grüß di (the variation Grüß di Gott may be heard in some places). In Bavaria and Austria griaß di and griaß eich are commonly heard, although their Standard German
Standard German
Standard German is the standard variety of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas...
equivalents are not uncommon either. A common farewell analogous to grüß Gott is pfiat' di Gott, a contraction of "Behüte dich Gott" ('God protect you'), which itself is not common at all. This is likewise shortened this to pfiat' di/eich or, if the person is addressed formally pfia Gott in Altbayern
Altbayern
Altbayern is a term used to describe the three oldest parts of the Free State of Bavaria, which were earlier known as Kurbayern. It also describes the people who live in the area Altbayern (also written Altbaiern, English meaning: Old Bavaria) is a term used to describe the three oldest parts of...
, Austria, and South Tyrol
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
(Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
).
In its Standard German form, grüß Gott is mostly stressed on the second word and in many places is used not only in everyday life, but is also common in the official communications of the aforementioned states. Use of the greeting guten Tag ('good day') is less prevalent, but there are those who dislike grüß Gott on account of its religious nature. In Bavaria, guten Tag is considered prim and distant and sometimes leads to misunderstandings; however, if the person addressed is from Northern Germany, it can be seen as a friendly gesture.